Most of Seneca commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
101 jobs are based in Seneca; 400 of its residents have a job. Only 4% work in Seneca itself; outside it, La Crosse draws the most (11%, 40 miles). Commuters spend 30 minutes getting to work on average; Wisconsin averages 22, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Seneca in brief
Seneca’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Seneca is La Crosse, 40 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (42) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Seneca is a place people come home to
There are 101 jobs based in Seneca, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Seneca has about 620 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Seneca workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 400 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Half of Seneca commutes less than 28 miles
About 28% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Who works in Seneca, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 382 residents head out to work, 18 work right here, and 83 people come in from elsewhere.
About 620 people are in Seneca on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
A commute of about 30 minutes in Seneca
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Seneca workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 385 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The towns that employ Seneca’s residents
Where Seneca clocks in
11% of workers
10% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Jobs in Seneca: what the 101 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Seneca, 2013 → 2023: 61 → 101. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Seneca’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Seneca and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Freeman (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Seneca workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seneca | – | — | — | 30 min | $82,188 |
| Lynxville | under 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Utica | under 3% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Freeman | 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Haney | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Eastman | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lynxville, Freeman, Haney and Eastman: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Utica: the same community as the town of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Seneca’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Seneca: questions
What is the median household income in Seneca?
$82,188 (±$14,193) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Seneca?
6.3%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Seneca?
30 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Seneca work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are La Crosse (11%, 40 mi), Prairie du Chien (10%, 17 mi), Viroqua (4%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Seneca without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Seneca, from the people who make the trip.
More of Seneca
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.